The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

Directed by

Penelope Spheeris

Genre

music documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 40m

Rated

NR

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 114 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary captures the late 1970s Los Angeles punk rock scene through concert footage and interviews with bands and fans. It shows the music, the lifestyle, and the tensions with local authorities.

rawchaoticenergeticgrittyobservationalconfrontationalunpolishedintense

What happens

The Decline of Western Civilization is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. In 1981, the Los Angeles Police Department chief Daryl Gates wrote a letter demanding the film not be shown again in the city. The film is the opening act of a trilogy by Spheeris, depicting music scenes in Los Angeles in the late 20th century. The second film, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988), covers the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1987–1988. The third film, The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998), chronicles the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers in 1996–1997. In 2016, The Decline of Western Civilization was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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